Thursday, February 28, 2008

Marc Boutavant is a brilliant french illustrator and my latest source of inspiration. I just can't get enough of his adorable style. I am wishing that his books were in english though (so I could read them with my girls).

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I'm loving the red and the blue together! High contrast and a lot of punch. Plus, I'm going to spend the entire month of June by the Black Sea (I'm going to Odessa at last!) so everything navy related makes me think about the big trip!

1. Unique shoes by Irregular choice- if you are looking for something off beat (and I always am) it's a good place to check out.

These baby toys are appropriately named 'wish come true' (by Friends with you). Are these not the cutest baby toys you've ever seen? Anais is almost 2 y.o. but I'm getting them anyway. We'll have a ton of fun with these cuties! They are coming soon to RELEASE THE FREAKS! They roll and spin and sing. They are just the perfect baby toys!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Four days until March! I'm counting, even though I know the snow will be on the ground until mid April. Here is my spring pattern - fresh and promising. I just can't wait to smell the flowers and ditch the winter wardrobe!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

I discovered these wonderful slavic book cover illustrations on Flickr(via John Coulter-Thanks!) and I'm totally in love with all this retro kookiness! How fun! What crazy color combos (especially on the one with the little green bird)!

Friday, February 22, 2008

I say - down with this winter grey! More sunshine, please! Although, grey and yellow is a pretty nice combo. I want to paint my bedroom bright yellow. I want to wear yellow flats and carry a yellow clutch. More yellow with my yellow, please!

John Coulter (a very fun illustrator)shared a few wonderful links (from the almighty Flickr) with me recently. When I first glanced at these mer-people I knew they had to reincarnate in some of my work! I've been thinking of making flash cards for a long time now, and it's finally starting to come together. Can't wait to get on to the next letter!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Lola (my oldest) turned 6 y. o. a couple of weeks ago. Just to do something different I invited a reptile zoo over for a visit! Yep! Little Rays Reptile Zoo. It was very exciting for the kids (and me). Very educational too. I spent most of the time behind the video camera avoiding petting the snakes, frogs, lizards, turtles and tarantulas. I don't know if other places have similar thing or if it's just an Ottawa occurrence. I highly recommend it if you have a young curious kid.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

What's the prognosis? Showers. Baby Boy Showers to be exact. It is not hard nowadays to find something super fun for a kid. It is hard to find something that doesn't have some overused cartoon character on it (no pointing of fingers necessary) and is relatively inexpensive. After all, they might not care about the $250 doll house as much as you do (and choose to relocate their little army of plushies into a cardboard box). However, I still have an easier time spending money on kids rather than on myself. Here are some awesome toys I have found:

• Six little soldiers, a ball and a tin drum from congo jo. Hours of entertainment (even for me).

• Teddy bears never go out of style. This blue one from habitat is too cute for words.

• Wooden toys are good on so many levels. I found this adorable block set on three potato four site. You could use this as part of a nursery decor.

• Ah...wooden dog by Yoshitomo Nara (one of my favorite Japanese artists). At first, this could serve as nursery decor, and later, once they start walking, expect some pulling along action (and some hilarious attempts to ride). Found it at KangarooBoo.

•Rody - the cutest horse ever! I have one in red and it has a rocking part at the bottom. My kids got a lot of mileage out of Rody. You can find one at PLASTICA.

•They call him the Muffin but he looks more like an upside down ice-cream cone to me. Cute, nonetheless. I have a Burger by the same company. Muffin and a ton of other wonderful and unique items can be found at zac and zoe.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Nothing goes better with dark blue jeans than a pair of bright red shoes! I think these Franco Sarto "Nail" Pumps from macy's take the cake on cuteness! I wish there was a macy's around here so I could try them on.

Also, I have discovered this little online store called PATINA. Truly lovely and inexpensive finds! I especially love the Tall Red Tote.

It's all about RED today! Dressed the girls in red white and pink....check. They wanted toast and red jam....check. Looked for red things to wear...nothing. Must remedy this situation. To the internet!.....here are some results...

• These red patterned shoes (Delman) look like they would be a statement and a half. Too bad they sold out. I'll check again later. Maybe this is for the best. That hill looks like it would take some getting used to.

• The plush heart, lil' lady umbrella and Lolita sunglasses are some cute finds in fredflare.

• Bohemian owl ring - If I could wear big rings (not for my lil' fingers) - this would be mine!

• These little red flower earings from Etsy would be a good touch without going all out.

• I wish that when I went out to shop for groceries they would all fit into this little retroish flowered tote from Bettyjoy. Then I would look good and contribute to the plastic bag free world. We might have to make 3 trips a day though.